Reviews: SODP097

Being unfamiliar with the previous recordings of Agonia Black Vomit (aka Agonia Blackvomit), my expectations about the band’s new album Cosmosatanic Wisdom were shaped largely by the band’s name and by the phrase “raw antichristian black metal” used in passing to describe the band’s earliest work. Yet whatever stylistic markers may have branded this Italian project’s previous recordings, its sole creator’s musical explorations have led him along interesting pathways, with results that are much less easily classifiable.

Before today, two songs from Cosmosatanic Wisdom have been revealed, and I’ve included streams of them below, but we also have the premiere of a third one for you in advance of the album’s June 20 release by Satanath Records’ sub-label Symbol Of Domination (Belarus) and Murdher Records (Italy). This one is named “Parallel Descanting Visions“.

This new song reveals surprises as it unfolds. The cracked-ice vocals and fiery riffing have an edge of gloom and despair as well as fury in their sound, but even when the song is racing with a murderous mien, the swirling, scintillating guitar lead (or is it a keyboard?) that rises in the music isn’t quite what you would expect. And then a further distinction manifests itself about halfway through, when the song slows and heaves, with the melody carried by an organ and ultimately by a beautiful though sorrowing dual-guitar harmony.

The other two songs prove to be just as gripping. The more prominent keyboard presence at the beginning and end of “Departure From Degrade” brought to mind horror movie soundtracks from decades past, adding to the drama and darkness of the song. It possesses a compelling melodic core and somber, gritty clean vocals that accompany the caustic harsh ones. It has an atmosphere that’s ominous and depressive, yet a stately infernal grandeur shrouds the music as well — until it catches fire near the end and begins to gallop. And here again, you’ll find another scintillating guitar lead which begins to seem like a hallmark of Agonia Black Vomit’s music on this album.

The third song, “Engines of Hate“, is different again from the first two discussed above, driven by a dark and swarming melody with an occult air and reaching heights of mental frenzy and deranged exultation (as I hear it). It’s unerringly grim and unsettling, but gripping — and yes, there’s a striking lead-guitar motif that pulses through the riffing and adds to the song’s appeal.

The diversity among just these three songs makes me eager to hear what else the album holds in store. I hope you enjoy them too.

Cosmosatanic Wisdom is Agonia Black Vomit’s second album, following Satanic Black Vomit in 2011 and a four-way split release in 2014 named Operazione paura, which was inspired by the Italian horror cult movie La casa dalle finestre che ridono, and another split in 2015 with the band Under. All music on the new album was created by Agonia.

Weird Italian black metal band. As usual for the Italian scene, it’s far from template of any sort and hearkens back to first wave aesthetics* in its very uniqueness if not outright strangeness, which is a definite plus.

* well, as it turns out, more latter-90’s second wave…but you get the general idea.

I’d have liked to have heard a split promo materials note the mainman behind this generally one man band (there are two different bass players involved, otherwise…) was involved with called Operazione Paura, supposedly inspired by one of my favorite modern era Italian horrors, House With the Laughing Windows…

In any case, the release in hand marries late 90’s/Norsecore-level crisp production and Gloomy Grimlike vocals (again – second one after Astarium this month!) and occasional keyboards to an Ancient-style approach to black metal (and “the peaceful solitude” actually feels more than a touch Cradle of Filth, so you see what general ballpark he’s playing in here.)

It’s far from my ideal or one of my stylistic go-tos when it comes to black metal, but as noted at the start, it’s quirky and quite Italian in that respect, while hitting a few recognizable and respectable scene/band markers along the way.

More than listenable, all told…and a few tracks like “alone” and the aforementioned “peaceful solitude” actually push the bar closer to “damn good stuff”.

Agonia Black Vomit is an Italian one-man black metal band and this is his second album.

Ostensibly raw, occult black metal; the brains behind Agonia Black Vomit has surprised by managing to produce and album that recognisably plays the classic blackened style, but offers a lot more depth and variety than you normally find in something of this nature.

Part of what makes this album a bit different from the norm and provides great texture across the tracks is the use of keyboards and melodies. Even when the keyboards/synths are at their grandest and most majestic, they still don’t overpower, but are used to add further layers and substantial emotive weight to the music. As for the guitar melodies, these act as defining features of the music in some ways. There are so many stand-out melodies on this album that almost every part of each song contains something that grabs your attention and holds it firmly until it passes.

Different speeds and methods of assault are employed, with the a harsh atmospheric approach being favoured for the most part. Keyboards, melodies, and lead guitars provide a rich musical tapestry for the listener to absorb and explore. As well as the music’s obvious attributes there’s also subtlety and nuance on display here too. As I say, this is an album of great depth, and the music is extremely rewarding and satisfying.

Although Cosmosatanic Wisdom undeniably has a feeling of the 90s in some ways, in others it sounds utterly timeless due to the sheer quality of the music this album contains. The songs are written and delivered in such engaging and compelling ways that the album really is something quite darkly special.

I have to say that Cosmosatanic Wisdom is hugely impressive and not at all what I thought I was going to encounter from Agonia Black Vomit. I was expecting scathing second wave black metal, and although this can certainly be viewed as this record’s base, what’s been accomplished with the style is unexpected and worthwhile. These songs are varied, show great depth and substance, are surprisingly infectious and memorable, and the whole album is just a huge achievement.

If you’re a fan of underground black metal, and are looking for something with emotive, textured content that can grab you and shock you out of your jaded existence, then look no further.

Agonia Black Vomit are a duo from Italy that plays a very atmospheric and satanic form of black metal and this is a review of their 2017 album "Cosmosatanic Wisdom" which was released as a joint effort between Symbol Of Domination Productions and Murdher Records.

Evil sounding keyboards start off the album and also mixes in with the heavier section of the music while ritualistic spoken word parts are also used briefly before adding grim black metal screams onto the recording and the guitar riffing also brings in a great amount of melody along with the music being heavily rooted in the 90's.

When the music speeds up a great amount of blast beats can be heard while the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with the solos and leads also being down in a very melodic fashion and when the riffs utilize tremolo picking it gives the music more of a raw feeling and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and the last track is very long and epic in length.

Agonia Black Vomit plays a keyboard style of satanic black metal that is very heavily rooted in the 90's, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Blasphemy, Satanism and Anti Christianity themes.

In my opinion Agonia Black Vomit are a very great sounding atmospheric satanic black metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this recording.

Hailing from Rome, Italy here comes Agonia Black Vomit with its second full length album release "Cosmosatanic Wisdom". Looking at the band's name it's obvious that they play something raw and traditional black metal stuff but it seems that Agonia Black Vomit is not a band stucked somewhere between that period particularly.

"Cosmosatanic Wisdom" is an album that's essential in the sense that its existence is refreshing and worth venturing by old and new black metal fans. Enchanting keyboards parts together with the melody creating a new but not that surprising element added to black metal music itself. All of the arrangements are made brilliantly and does stand out from other bands. It's not a new thing to the black metal scene actually but the fact that Agonia Black Vomit really delivered their music to the fullest with lots of new and unchartered parts of elements to be found and enjoyed. Their music flows quite well with fast and slower parts plus the harsh but conventional and sometimes clean vocal lines really fits in and blends perfectly. Guitar works are almost atmospheric all the time and played well, creating a certain mood with thick texture of emotions in it. With enough bass on this album accompanying the drum parts in an interesting with a variety of techniques but the sound is quite monotonous due to its nature of being a one man band.With all the atmosphere in this album, black metal fans should have no problem digesting without even knowing that they've been sucked into the realm for real.

"Comsosatanic Wisdom" is an interesting release and exotic to be honest but still it's a strong one and waiting to be discovered and it's totally worth it! Get ready for the journey into Agonia Black Vomit's realm of darkness!

I have had some really cool Italian black metal meetings over the years. One that comes to mind is Handful of Hate. A band that I discovered by chance but turned out to be really cool. I have the same kinda hope for AGONIA BLACK VOMIT. This album did not start on a high note for me. I thought that this was perhaps going to be some sort of doom black metal but that was just the first track. By the second the pace picked up and it became a much more interesting entity. This is still by no way ultra fast black metal. The tempo is moderate at best but there is enough energy in the music to make me interested. In a way it reminds me of a slightly more extreme Ancient. Not a new Handful Of Hate for me but still a decent enough album.

Agonia Black Vomit are dwelling around for about a decade. This duo, being Marco ‘Pesten’ Bomboi (also in e.g. Tundra) and Marco ‘Agonia’ Rosati (think Zedher / Zedher’s Coffin or Nailed God), created a first album, called Satanic Black Vomit, which was released in 2011 via Mexico’s Black Cult Records (hey guys, are you still around?). After some silence, Slava Satan Records, co-founded by Pesten, released a four-way split which included three other Italian projects (amongst which Tundra), though this one being extremely limited. Once again three silent years passed by, but Pesten and Agonia now return, assisted by colleague Maleun, with their second full length studio album, intelligently called Cosmosatanic Wisdom. The compact disc gets released in an edition of 500 copies via, once again, an unholy collaboration of Symbol Of Domination Productions and MurdHer Records. It comes with a four-page booklet, including the lyrics at the inside, and very bombastic, expressive artwork that surely fits perfectly to the album’s title.

Cosmosatanic Wisdom was initially recorded in 2015, but apparently it took some time… Never mind, here we have it. The album, being a seven-tracker that lasts for forty-two minutes, is very rich, multi-faceted and orchestral in sound and execution, once again fitting perfectly to the album’s title and the artwork, as mentioned in the former paragraph. There are no drums – it’s drum programming being used. In most cases, when a project uses a drum computer, the percussions sound forced, mechanical, even imbecile. In Agonia Black Vomit’s case, then again, that’s not the case. On the contrary; most of the time, the drum patterns sound organic and ‘real’. There are, of course, blasting-fast excerpts, but they lack exaggeration, and that’s nothing but a positive aspect. The interplay is, as said, quite ‘rich’ and overwhelming, with several layers of synths, basses and electric guitars. The material is very melodic and dramatic, even theatrical in essence, with many changes in tempo and structure, and expresses an astral atmosphere with an epic attitude. Gloomy tremolo guitar melodies and sharp-edged solos are multio, supported and uplifted by pounding, deep-toned bass lines and the aforementioned drum programming. The keyboards are permanently present, yet in a shifting performance. Sometimes the keyboards take a leading role, presenting a cosmic or symphonic passage, then again they act as a fine entity on the background, supporting the string-based heaviness. For sure they often define the astral touch and occult approach of the band. Vocal-wise, screamer Agonia delves into the darkest pits of his being. His voice is raw, icy, gurgling, with some spoken phrases, cleaner passages and choirs.

The production is rough and unpolished, with a great mixture - no irritating effect of the programming and a fine equilibrium of all instruments involved. Nothing more to add on this matter…

There is one single remark for my concern, and that’s a lack of adventure. Seen the artwork and the concept, I was expecting an audacious, temerarious album. To a certain extent, that’s true, but not as intense and intriguingly as I might have hoped for. Don’t get me wrong: I have not been bored one single time by Cosmosatanic Wisdom, and a couple of songs (or chapters within a composition) truly impress me. But the result somehow leaves me craving for something more to come – but it never came.

I confess: I decided to review the sophomore album of Agonia Black Vomit mostly because they comes from Rome Caput Mundi like me! Another reason is that Agonia Black Vomit is really a fantastic name, so, before to listen to this "Cosmosatanic Kingdom", I expected a blasting massacre of nuklear proportions able to kill all your fuckin' neurons! Instead, this CD released by the Belarussian label Symbol of Domination along with Murdher Rec (from Rome, too) show a strange and interesting approach to conceive the black metal music, also if it isn't so effective, as you'll read very soon.

In fact, "Cosmosatanic Kingdom" starts in a bad way with its first three songs. The problem is that they repeat basically the same things from start to finish and without offering a good intensity because they aren't characterized by effective climaxes able to seriously move the listeners. In addition, you have to consider that there is no human drummer but a drum-machine, so the songs sounds a little bit weak but this is also a personal taste of mine because you know that I hate so much the drummer that I prefer to hear, at its place, a bad drummer.

In exchange, the musical visions of the mastermind Agonia deserves attention already starting from the opening track "Departure from Degrade". The pace of this song is mostly very slow (it becomes fast after 5 minutes but only for 30 seconds circa), the guitars are raw but melodic, the atmosphere recreated is depressive also thanks to minimalistic and funereal keyboards while, here and there, there are space sounds, so don't expect a kind of black metal easy to classify. The following song "Engines of Hate" is more furious also due to the presence of blast-beats but always offering some slowdowns with space vibes this time produced by a psychedelic lead guitar. At this point, it's important to underline that the same lead guitar is very used by Agonia but, for me this, this another particular feature is exploited better in the other tryptich of song into this album.

I think that Agonia, in tracks called "Parallel Descanting Visions" (watch its video below), "The Peaceful Solitude" (here the basswork is great!) and "Alone", shows many of the potentialities of his project. These songs develops thorugh unpredictable plots towards also very emotive climaxes. Often, these climaxes are caused by the brilliant and inventive interaction between the two (but sometimes even three!) guitars, that, in certain cases, chase each other to create original layered riffs while playing also some solos in tracks like "The Peaceful Solitude". The result of all this is that the three aforementioned numbers are amazing but...

...but, at the end, there is the ambitious final track "Symphony of Suffering". And I said "ambitious" because it lasts the beauty of 15 fukken minutes! But, unfortunately, this tour de force, for me, sounds too disjointed and confusing without the touches of real genius, unpredictability and intensity of songs like "Alone". Despite this not so good result, there is need to appreciate the courage of this black metal musician to play a track with a lenght to not undervalue in every way as "Symphony of Suffering".

So, this "Cosmosatanic Kingdom" is really fuckin' strange. On a hand, we have three disappointing tracks like the first three ones. On the other hand, we have other three songs that are really remarkable. But finally, the final number could be decisevely better than now. Hence, the rating, unfortunately, is low but without forgetting that we are talking about a one-man black metal band with many ideas and courage...hoping, anyway, that the future new stuff will be in the vein of "The Peaceful Solitude" or "Alone". And meanwhile, watch below the promotional video of a very new song called "The Time's Flies"!